badboy

Central Air Conditioning question…


What kind of system do you have?

Either the condenser outside and the coil/fan indoors (attic), or everything indoors.

Is your system energy star compliant?

What brand is it?

How much did the hardware cost?

I am in the market for a central air system condenser. I need to replace my existing one because it blew on me and it’s pretty hot these days.

Any information would be appreciated since I am not too familiar with central ac systems.

TypeSAddict

Central Air > * College has made me miss it SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much

yunginTL

nothin but central AC in htown shitt

TBone2004

Trane and Carrier are supposedly tops - I am still riding on my builder Special crap - I have no idea what it is called...but she's keeping it cool, so I'm nice to her.

jdone

We just installed a new Trane system to repace our 18yo system. Our monthly electric bills dropped almost 40%!

TBone2004

Do you know if you can get one with some real air push? My builders special just does not make it to all the vents adequately. Its only one zone and we added a room too. I bet ours is an energy hog. Good to know. What kinda ballpark were you in - 8-10k?

Dfreder2

One of the crude ways you judge if A/C is working or not is to feel the exhaust, and to see if it is expelling hot air. If it is, it is probably working as prescribed.

Putting an A/C unit inside the house would merely expell the hot air back into the house, defeating the whole purpose.

badboy

I agree with you that there as to be a way the hot air has to leave the house.

This is what I read on a website:

Next, you must decide what type of system to buy. There are two kinds. A "package system" gangs the condenser, which cools the refrigerant and exhausts warm air, with the fan-and-coil system, which cools and blows the air. The ducting connects directly to the unit. This is essentially a large wall air conditioner with ducts. But package systems are rare.

With a "split system," the condenser is outside the house and the fan-and-coil system are inside; they're connected to each other by pipes that carry refrigerant. If you have a forced-air furnace, the refrigerant pipes are connected to a cooling coil system fitted into the furnace air handler. Sometimes it goes right into the existing plenum. If that won't work because of space limitations, the contractor will fabricate a separate sheet-metal plenum. If you don't have forced air, the fan-and-coil system is typically placed in the attic, where it will deliver cool air through ducts. The 20- to 30-foot-long pipes that carry the refrigerant are disguised to look like a downspout.


I thought the package systems would be inside, and somehow has a warm air outlet.

zeroday

i just bought a new bryant 80% efficient system..it uses puron and i'm sure it's energy star compliant. I paid 5400 installed for the heater/ac/humidifier. No idea what the ac alone costs. I got one estimate for 3500 installed for a new lennox heater/AC system...the really low price made me nervous so i went with a reputable place and paid more.

my house is about 2k square feet; if yours is bigger/smaller the unit you need will be different and the price will change.

chef chris

Three parts to an a/c unit. Condenser, Evaporator, Blower. Blower is always in the house, of course, , as well as the evaporator. The evaporator absorbs heat from the room and transfers the heat to the outside.

Most places with gas/oil heat will have a split system, or very large homes which require 2 units...one on the lower floor and a seperate system in the attic.

Ruud, Bryant, Rheem, Traine, Carrier, York are the major brands. I've had Traine, Carrier, Ruud and all have exceeded expectations.

jdone

Our house is a large walk-out ranch. It is zoned for two heating and air-conditioning units. We had two Trane gas furnaces and two Trane >14.1 SEER air conditioning units installed for right around $10k. We are talking climate control for 4600 square feet of living space. Last month's bill for 85-95 degree weather was $118. That includes the gas for a 50 gallon gas hot water heater.

chef chris

You could always just upgrade to a variable speed fan motor. That may be the difference you need. As long as the unit itself is sized properly for the home, the only thing it would need is a higher speed blower to get the cooler air throughout the home quicker.

Fibonacci

Just replaced my 30 yo furnace and A/C with a Trane system...no complaints yet.

badboy

Update, got some estimates:

Trane seems to be the most expensive at 5400, which will get me a 12 seer condenser with an air handler, also replacement of all piping used. This system uses the new refrigerant. They say that the old refrigerant, F22 I think, is not being manufactured anymore, so the prices will skyrocket soon. This estimate was through Home Depot.

Next estimate was from Sears, which uses the Carrier brand. They will put in a 12 Seer condenser and an air handler as well, using existing piping. Using the old refrigerant.
Two things that concern me is the old piping and the old refrigerant. The estimate was 4100.

Another estimate was for changing just the condenser that sits outside, which was 1600.

I am thinking about going with option 2 because of the price, although I am worried about future expense if something goes wrong in the piping or if I need more refrigerant.

If money was no option, which is rarely the case, I would be going with option 1. Duh.

Help me choose.

Comments?

chef chris

Go with option 1 & shop around. There is plenty of mark-up in this business...just bust some chops until you get the price down. Trane is a premium brand...plenty of local contractors should have those units available.

Do not go with a refridgerant that is being phased out...you will regret it when they MAKE you upgrade a few years from now if you need a re-charge. Then, the cost difference will be a mute point.

zeroday

my new ac uses 'puron' refrigerant...is this what most of the new units are using?

chef chris

Zero, I think puron is a trade-name...like freon was for R-12.

I believe my trane heat-pump used puron though...purchased it about 5 years ago

TBone2004

Wow - thats not too bad considering it is two units. Ours is a Rheem which came with the house when we had it built 7 years ago. I have 1/2 the square footage - maybe I can get away with 5-6k

jdone

Get at least three or four estimates-there is an amazing variance. I suppose it depends on which company needs the work at the time. Our estimates went from $9970-$14,068 for the same Trane systems!